


Stel

by viceversa



Category: The Fall (TV 2013), The X-Files
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viceversa/pseuds/viceversa
Summary: Prompt: "The first time Scully calls her "Stel" and she's surprised at how much she doesn't hate it."





	Stel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sportsnightnut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sportsnightnut/gifts).



“Dana! I’m here!”

Stella walked in to her girlfriend’s apartment, using the key she’d gotten on their two month anniversary. She’d been with Dana for almost a year, and it still felt surreal. She heard muffled noises from the back of the apartment and dropped her bag on her way to see her girl.

“Dana?” Stella tapped on the door to the bathroom, now hearing the sounds of the shower. “I’m here!” She raised her voice through the door after testing the knob - locked.  Yet another trait they had in common after years of profiling criminals. It made practical, safety sense, but tended to hinder the good surprise visits in the shower.

_“I’ll be out in a few, Stel! Get comfortable!”_

Stella stepped back slightly. Stel? That was... new. Realizing her silence, she answered Dana quickly. “Okay!”

She clipped back down the hall and into the kitchenette where wine was already breathing for her. As she poured a glass, her mind went back to their exchange. Stel. Dana had never called her anything but Stella or “love” before. 

Stel was an old nickname, from various men who thought they knew her well enough to be so bold. From people she hadn’t yet begun to trust, but who wanted her to feel some false connection with them. A name from childhood, from teen love and adult disappointment. It had never come out of the mouth of someone she’d loved. Of course, there was no one else like Dana.

Stel. She… well. She didn’t hate it. In fact - she thought, pausing to take a sip of wine - she might even grow to love Dana calling her that.

Stella had her own pet names for Dana, of course. It was easy to shorten her name to “Dane” when the mood was light, full of laughter. She was “sweetheart” after a nightmare; she was “love” every day of her life.

Time passed quickly as she sipped at her wine. Dana was out of the shower before long, damp hair dotting the grey shirt she wore with steamy water. She smiled when she met Stella in the kitchen, kissing her quickly in greeting.

“I see you found the wine.”

“You called me Stel.” It blurted from her mouth most unnaturally before she could think to say anything else.

Dana looked slightly surprised at the declaration and gave Stella a look on her way to pour herself some wine. “I did?”

“You did.” Stella managed to sound normal as she followed up.

Dana continued to look confused. “Um…  Should I not have? I’m sorry if you—“

“No!”

Dana jumped slightly at her tone, more out of confusion than anything else. Stella immediately felt bad, messing up another part of their relationship that should be easy. She hadn’t had practice in this, and Dana was the most understanding person in the world.

“Sorry, no - long day at work ignore me.” Stella smiled self-deprecatingly, but only for a moment as her face softened. “I like it.”

Dana brightened. “Yeah?”

“From you, anyway. It sounds right. Good.”

Dana broke into a full fledged smile, a little touched and just happy at Stella’s reaction. “Well, Stel,” she laughed, “how about some dinner?”

Stella smiled back, just as wide, and set her wine down. She closed the small distance between them and kissed Dana full on the mouth, tasting a combination of wine and toothpaste only she could make appealing. She pulled back, just enough to speak.

“I can think of things I’d rather do first.”

They had a late dinner that night.


End file.
